Human Disgrace
by Thalione
Summary: When a Turk is killed during the Wutain war, her body is recovered, and later reanimated by Hojo with Jenova Cells. What will become of such a questionable experiment.
1. It all begins somewhere

With a light gust of 'wind', those who inhabited the slums let out a communal shiver, the scent of toxic gasses and poverty nearly unbearable. Now 4:30 in the morning, the only sounds in the Wall market; remained the small sighs of the prostitutes, unable to find any jobs, and the incessant humming and buzzing of the bright neon lights that advertised the shops and inns in the area. The only people who lounged in the paths now were the men from the upper plates of the city being kicked out of the Local Honey Bee club, the last call having been announced. The light footsteps of the woman emerging from the shadows then called all attention away from the silence, the large bag of metal scraps and broken machinery clinking and clanging in her arms.

Strangely enough, she wasn't bothered by those lingering men, as she continued towards the northern sector of wall market. Hip checking her way into the weapon's shop, Kaylen didn't vocally announce her presence. Flicking on only one of the lights, she set the large brown bag on the counter. Wiping the perspiration from her brow, she was left with a large black streak along her face, the grease from one of the gears transferring to the back of her hand. Blissfully unaware of her appearance, she clicked on the light in the window, and after several moments of spazzing electricity, the neon sign flickered to life. Seated behind the counter, sorting through the various metals, it was obvious that Kaylen's insomnia was worse than usual. Removing the blob of fabric that settled over her torso, Kaylen tossed the poorly knitted sweater onto one of the chairs behind her. She helped out at the weapons shop in return for room and board from the owner and his wife. They were a portly little couple, and appreciated the extra help. The woman, Mirny had recently taken up knitting, and was none to good at it, but they were clothes, and they were warm.

But the shop wasn't doing as well as it could have been. They only used half the lights to save on electricity and mako, and Kaylen was the only other employee. But that was life in the slums. While those on the plates wined and dined their lives away, those not rich enough to pay the premiums Shin-Ra had set up lived down here…in sectors. Poverty wore thin on every person, and Kaylen was no exception. Tinkering away with the machines, she was only greeted by the sound of the door opening and closing. Standing up to see who it was, a small shiver ran along her spine. "Yes? Can I help you?" She asked, not entirely sure who would be shopping so late.

That earlier shiver multiplied as she viewed the Turk there, a small realization dawning on her as she wracked her mind for something she may have done. The Turk then gazed at the Kaylen's momentary fear and let a loud laughter escape the confines of his chest. "I'm here for gun maintenance." He then stated, letting the woman draw her own conclusion. The Turks were often associated with disappearances, kidnappings, general murder and rape, all in a days work. It was often joked, in hushed whispers that you would only see a Turk once in your life, because it would always end mysteriously afterwards.

A nervous laugh escaped the young woman, as she shoved the other metals out of the way to clear a spot for the man's pistol. "Should be relatively quick, just regular maintanince? Or is it clogged?" She began, flicking on one more light to afford her a closer look. As she went about her work with the standard issue gun, she attempted to make light conversation. "Out on business?" She asked, tinkering away and cleaning as she went. The turk provided her with short answers, intrigued at the slummer's skill with the gun. "Are you this skilled with all weapons?" He asked suddenly, his eyes glancing over the various blades, daggers, and guns that lined the walls. Kaylen looked up then, her brows furrowing slightly. "Well, yes…I've been trained by the shop keeper for the past 5 years…you have to know the product you service." A smug look emerged over the man's features, as he merely nodded and waited for the woman to finish. With the Wutain war on the brink of breaking out, Shin-Ra was in need of various recruits. Perhaps she could survive the life of a soldier.

As she finished up and wiped down the area, Kaylen looked back up at the suited man. "Lets see if you're any good with it." It was rather a command than a friendly question, and Kaylen rose slowly from her chair. "Can I ask why?" With a smirk dancing on his face the man merely shrugged and whispered. "No. Now follow me." Kaylen followed the man outside, quietly trembling. Taking an elastic off her wrist, she hurriedly gathered up a fistful of brown curls and put them out of her way. Following the suited man around the building into the back alley, he tossed the gun towards her nonchalantly. While she caught the pistol, he pointed at a lamp post several hundred feet away. "Shoot."

Nearly loosing her footing, Kaylen saw the distinct spirals of her breath. Small goosebumps rising along her skin, she forced the safety off the gun and gazed towards the Turk. In a moment she turned towards the target, and in a swift movement, and 5 calculated shots, she shot the first light bulb, then the second from a lamp post farther away. She continued this down the street, all five shots taking down a light. This earned a small chuckle from the man, as he simply made a waving movement towards her. His mind began whirling with possibilities. It was obvious that this woman was useless down here in the slums, where she could be of decent use to Shin-Ra. Soldier…not quite…perhaps an opening in the Turks would finally be filled. Reaching into his coat pocket, he took out a small business card and a pen. Scribbling down some information, he tossed it at her.

Watching the small card flutter through the air towards her, Kaylen made no movement to retrieve it. She looked up however as he spoke again. "Keep the pistol, and read the damn card. See you at work."

Kaylen's face momentarily faltered, as her brows rose. "Work? What? What in the fuck are you talking about? Hey! Wait! I want some answers" Dropping the gun she ran after the man all the while trying not to loose her footing in the dark. As the man turned a corner, she was greeted with the faint sound of growling. As the Guard Hound crawled out from under the garbage, Kaylen nearly fell backwards. A single flash of light became captured in its eyes and the nocturnal beast flew at her. The turk had already disappeared, as Kaylen was forced onto the ground by the ravenous beast. A small shriek trickled through her lips, as her hand searched along the ground for something to beat the creature off with. Her hands grasping around a thick pipe, she swung it at the beasts muzzle, already bitting into her side. Feeling her skin punctured by those sharp teeth Kaylen's eyes widened with immediate fear, dealing another blow with the pipe to the Guard Hound's head. As the beast shrank back momentarily, she was able to dash off the ground toward the Gun she had dropped only minutes ago. Searching the darkness for the weapon, the Guard Hound attacked a second time, his foaming mouth tearing into the skin on her forearm. With her other hand, Kaylen finally found the pistol, and point blank, fired several shots into the beasts body. When it finally stopped breathing, she used the butt of the pistol to break the beast's jaw, sliding the mutilated flesh from within it's serrated teeth.

Light headed, the woman rose then, the Turk's pistol in hand. Faintly in the shadows she distinguished the card lying on the asphalt. Picking it up, she merely forced the paper into her back pocket. Stumbling back around the building, the bleeding woman crept back into the shop, and through the back to the small room she called home. Tearing one of the sheets she gently dabbed the blood from her forearm, opening the dresser drawer to remove a potion. After soaking the sheet with the liquid she wrapped it around her arm and her torso, and eased herself into bed. Shutting off the small light, Kaylen lied awake in the dark for some time, before finally passing out.


	2. Thrown Punches and Straw Hats

Authors note- Getting to the actual plot is going slower than imagined, but character development is fun. NodNod

When the brunette finally came to, a quiet moan seemed the only sound in the room, unless you counted that beautiful sound of her ticking clock. Strangely violet eyes stared down the several numbers, calculating the time. When she finally came to a conclusion, Kaylen rolled over, and gritted her teeth. Her skin protested her movement, still swollen from the injuries the night before. She would have to pick up another potion before the end of the morning…but with what. Her hands dug into the sheets on the mattress, bunching them in her palm as she stretched out on the makeshift cot. The room was more than dingy, with a single light hanging from the ceiling, recklessly tied to one of the exposed rafters. As her bare feet brushed the cool wooden floor, the curtain of a deep sleep finally seemed to have lifted from the woman's senses. The only light available in the small window was from another neon sign just next door.

The slums never did get sunlight, and that's what the native woman from rocket town missed most. Her skin had become pallid and pale from lack of sunlight, and as most in the slums, she had to take several supplements a day to retain the proper vitamins in her body. No one chose to live this way…but one had to start from somewhere…and when you hit rock bottom, you can only go up. Or at least, that's what Kaylen hoped. Dragging her stiff body into a standing position, she crossed the smooth wooden floor to the cracked mirror on the other side of the tiny room. A light moan escaped her, as she rubbed at the black streak on her face to no avail.

Silently, somewhere in the back of her mind, Kaylen may have realized the seriousness of her situation. Her back ached from hauling metals and machines, her hands worn and calloused from months of tinkering and polishing. Standing sideways and observing her figure in the glass, another pit fell in her stomach. Standing at nearly 5'10 the woman had scarcely enough body mass to pass beyond a twelve year old little girl. Though the small waist and the curve of her hips distinguished her from a boy, at least for the time being. Her cheekbones stood prominent on her face, while she had adopted bags under her violet eyes. Releasing the mass of waving curling brown hair to fall in light chunky tendrils around her face and shoulders, Kaylen immediately confronted her reflection with a scowl. _By the planet…I'm starving away to nothing…_ The tip of her tongue running along her thumb, she used the appendage to scrub and scratch away the grease mark. Glancing along the floor, the brunette kicked various piles of laundry out of the way, before finding what she was searching for. Pulling off the tattered shirt, Kaylen was nearly shocked to see the monstrosity of each and every one of her ribs poking out from beneath the malnourished flesh. Her stomach had nearly become concave, her breasts also suffering the same diminished size.

Pulling the black t-shirt over her head, she was nearly disgusted when she saw the results of the clingy fabric. Pulling on a pair of dark denim pants, Kaylen took a gander at the rest of her. Despite the rest of her body, her legs had become stronger, hauling heavy weapons about all day and night. Her only condolence was, that she still had a lovely behind. Doing a little bum dance in front of the mirror, the young woman seemed momentarily appeased.

Tying the hair back now, the girl gazed down at the discarded clothes, and found the dog eared card sticking out from the back pocket. Sliding into a cross legged position on the floor, Kaylen also pensively held the standard issue pistol.

Investigation Division of the General Affairs Department 

2-(845) 385-3592

Ext: Floor 45

Room # CD-6.8

Flipping the card over idly, the blotches of cursive ink slowly became recognizable in the dim light, as she dared not use any more electricity than was allotted. Rising from her seated position, Kaylen leaned against the small window, tilting the card towards the light peaking in through the glass. As the green and red light spilt onto the white card, the black script seemed almost to shimmer. _By the planet…a Turk? She? _Swearing violently under her breath, she deduced that some deity of the planet was merely toying with her. An exasperated prayer to no one in particular escaped her lips then, in rhythm to the ticking clock. "Just stop fucking up my life. Just once…stop fucking around with my life." The words fell into a hiss, as she stowed the card away safely into the pocket. She would never be able to read it here…best go where there was real light. Mull things over.

1,2,4, she counted as she descended down the steps towards the small room that stood between the small house and the shop's front. Skipping the third stair had always been a habit for the woman, as it's base had broken several weeks ago; even though it had just been repaired, the woman always assumed it would crush under her weight, and send her tumbling into the darkness, waking up the household. In the silence, there was no more ticking, just the strange growling noises her stomach concocted now and then. Closing the door to the small house behind her, the brunette woman started towards the small restaurant at the end of the market.

Kaylen usually kept to herself, knowing that it was not useful to get to know the people down here. It was hard to maintain a close relationship with anyone, when you got news of terrorists in their midst's, the world on the brink of war, the mysterious disappearances of those who spoke ill of Shin-Ra. Those thoughts sent shivers down her spine, as Kaylen realized that she might be next. Nervously her thoughts pulled towards the card in her back pocket, and she immediately changed her course of action.

Dodging into the inn just next of her, she forcibly pulled the card from her pocket, and flipped it over eagerly. Finally the blobs of cursive ink started to from letters and words.

A date, a time, and a name to mention to the secretary.

_April 6th_

_9:30 Am_

_Tseng – New recruit's office._

Further down, there was a little note, hastily scratched onto the card.   
_Don't dress like shit._

Leaning against the cool tile of the Inn's lobby, Kaylen tossed about the mile a minute thoughts in her mind, until all the little trains carrying her thoughts met at the same track, and exploded. The migrane that followed her thinking caused her lips to draw up into a grave line, before all the air was knocked out of her stomach by a strong fist. Looking up, Kaylen returned the favor, her left arm hooking into the side of the boy's face.

"What the hell Liam!" She screeched, with what ever breath remained in her body. Now the boy wiped the blood starting to seep from his nose, and offered a bloody wave.

"You looked like someone just died, so I gave you something REAL to worry about."

"For fucks sake." She grumbled, massaging the tender tissues, healed from last night's attack, yet still sore.

A small snicker fell from the boy's mouth, as he playfully jabbed her side. "Common Kay, no harm done…you're going to go soft if I disappear for much longer."

Nodding, she knew it to be true, the boy had been 'missing' for weeks, and she alone knew where the culprit had fled. A stalk of straw had been forced into a floppy hat he was wearing, his skin nearly black from the sun. Silently Kaylen envied him. "So, how is Chocobo farming?" As the boy launched into a three hour explanation of the proper types of feeds for each breed, the exact stamina's and speeds of his favorite beasts, it was enough to drive the poor girl insane. Because now came the part in the conversation where he would plead his childhood friend to leave behind Midgar, and follow him to some farm past the mountains. 

As those sentences formed on his lips, Kaylen stopped him right there. "First of all, the answer is no. Second of all, I know I look like a starving wraith, and third, well…I cant read your mind that well…so just stop talking, and start walking. What the hell are you doing back here this time?" She questioned, avid to keep the conversation centered on someone else's life. And while the farmer discussed the need to find new locks for the fences on the farm, Kaylen's hand slipped into her back pocket, feeling the smooth surface of the card still there.

It remained there like a dirty secret, slowly becoming more and more appealing to her. It would be nice to eat decent meals once in a while, to afford to travel, hell she might even go visit Liam, and find out why he loved those balls of fluff and feathers so much.

Walking side by side down the paths of wall market, Kaylen silently made up her mind to attend this strange meeting. And while Liam prattled about Chocobo Care, the brunette quietly pondered on what exactly she would wear.


End file.
